Obviously, Team Specialized juniors and masters teammates are passionate about bicycle racing. We're not professional cyclists, but we take our hobby seriously. As the junior team director I love that the juniors benefit from the goal-driven masters teammates. It's not so much that the masters have anything to prove, it's just that they have good perspective - a) it's a hobby! we're racing our bikes, not saving lives, and b) spend as much time as we do training, and we might as well win. Toss in a teammate or two to cover your counter-attack and we can have some fun together.
We all learn differently through a combination of visual, auditory and kinetic situations. Cyclists tend to be keen on the kinetic learning, which is to say we'd rather experience a race ourselves than watch or read about it. Since our juniors and supporters did not travel to Bend, Oregon for the 2012 USA Cycling Masters National Championships I thought I'd share one of the BEST races I have ever witnessed. You probably already knew that our teammate Jason Walker is the main character in this story, but it's a story worth repeating, so here goes!
Bend, OR. - Saturday, September 8th - USA Cycling Criterium National Championships
Competitors were treated to a technical six corner, one kilometer downtown criterium course. While we anticipated breakaway groups to last, each of the three previous mens races (masters 55-59, 50-54 and 45-49) ended up in field sprints. Teammates Jason Walker and 2011 USA Cycling masters criterium national champion Dean LaBerge had a 4pm start for their masters 40-44 year old race. 80 starters on the line for this 50 lap/ 50 kilometer slugfest. From the start Dean and Jason were at or near the front. The race was fast but when Dean or Jason were in a small break the pace in the front would stay high while teammates or those not willing to expend energy so early in the race slowed and gaps would open. Overall, the first ten laps were anything but smooth and consistent, which became a recipe for one of the breaks that both Dean and Jason were part of to stick. It was a small group of six riders with a small ten second lead on the chasers and 35 laps to go, when a bit of non-cooperation split the small breakaway group and Jason squirted off the front. He spent the next 35 laps, or about 47 minutes off the front away from 79 chasers. Solo! A great victory, but how does someone hold off a charging pack chasing a national championship, stars and bars jersey and gold medal?
Here's how - As mentioned, Jason and his early break had ten seconds on the field. When Jason attacked the chasers cooperated just long enough to keep their ten seconds on the field. Immediately, Jason had five seconds on the break and 15 seconds on the field and that became 20 seconds with 30 laps to go. I also mentioned that this was a technical course. So much so that turns one, two, three, four and five could be taken as fast solo as they could in a charging pack. Jason (obviously) nailed this section of the course. It was between turns five, six and one that the race favored the pack. Slightly downhill to turn six, then a slight headwind into one. I was at the start/finish line feeding the announcers facts about Jason (2011 USA Cycling national road race champion; 2012 Tour de Nez winner after 45 minutes solo) and overhearing the USA Cycling official mention that Jason ripped off seven consecutive laps in one minute nineteen sections. Could he hold it? The chase behind was on as Monster Media sent their team to the front. The gap came down to the 12 second range but the chase lost steam. In the final fifteen laps small groups would attempt to bridge to Jason only to see Dean on their wheel getting a free ride up the road. Congratulations to Jason for the timing of his move, for his boldness in going solo for so long, for his expert cornering abilities and for having a former national champion teammate in the field who no one wanted to bring to the line. This was by far the most exciting ride I have ever seen and I wanted to share it with people that were not there to see it.
Cheers, Larry
Jason Walker - 2012 USA Cycling Criterium National Champion
(and a picture of the REAL reason he won... he shaved his legs!)
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